Poisonous Spiders Are Invading Midwestern Homes Right Now

Although summer is traditionally a season of fun, there are a few drawbacks to the warm weather- and one of them is the prevalence of brown recluse spiders.

Not to scare you into moving to Antarctica, but according to WQAD, all of the heat we've had lately has contributed to brown recluses becoming more active, especially in the Midwest. Aka, your odds of getting bitten by one of the poisonous spiders becomes a lot higher, and brown recluses have venom that can potentially cause a pretty bad infection. Bites typically appear red after several hours and reactions of nausea, fever, dizziness, and weakness often occur 24-36 hours after the bite takes place.

So how do you avoid becoming the victim of a brown recluse? Since, as their name suggests, the spiders like to hide, simply reducing clutter around your house is a good first step. Basically, don't give them a place to set up a discreet home.

It's also good to know how to recognize the spiders: They typically have a violin-shaped mark on their body and are 1/4-3/4 of an inch long. If you spot one in your home, don't panic. The spiders only bite when they're feeling threatened, so resist the urge to swat it and call an exterminator instead. You can find more stats about the spiders here.